Prisoner Early Release Scheme

Private Notice Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government, given reports that PC Andrew Harper’s killers may be eligible for early release, what assessment they have made of the prisoner early release scheme and; when will they set out whether any changes to the scheme will be implemented before the first tranche of releases in September.

My Lords, before turning to the substance of the noble Earl’s Question, I first pay tribute to PC Andrew Harper and his family and friends, particularly his widow, Lissie, and his mother, Debbie, who have both spoken so movingly about his case in recent days. PC Harper dedicated his life to public service, putting himself in harm’s way to protect others and uphold the rule of law. His courage, commitment and professionalism exemplified the very best of policing.

This Government inherited a prison system days from collapse. In the light of concerns raised about the application of the Sentencing Act, the Prime Minister stated a couple of days ago that the release point changes would be looked at again to ensure that everything had been fully considered before the Government set out their position.

I thank the Minister for his response. Noble Lords on the Conservative Benches have been tabling and voting for amendments to secure exemptions from this early release scheme since November last year, amendments that were defeated by noble Lords on the Government and Liberal Democrat Benches. Why did it take PC Harper’s family going to the media this week for the Government to even consider the action that your Lordships’ House was urging them to take eight months ago?

To be very clear, it is only right that the new Prime Minister has a look across the board at the Government’s policies. Nobody in your Lordships’ House will be in any doubt about the horrific murder of PC Andrew Harper. It is only right that the Prime Minister, along with the Lord Chancellor, looks at the scheme in place and its operation. It is the case that we faced a prison system on its knees, literally days from collapse—it was practically at 100% just before we came into office. That is why we not only passed the Sentencing Bill, so that in the long term we can reduce the demand for prison places by several thousand, but are building prison places at a rate that we have not seen since Labour was last in government. That is important. This is not the time be making political attacks. It is time to make sure that we get this policy right.

My Lords, it is always a pleasure to listen to the Minister. Can I say how sorry I am that the noble Baroness, Lady Levitt, is no longer a Minister in this Government? She displayed conspicuous ability, responsiveness to noble Lords who raised points and manifest integrity. It is a great shame that those qualities are not sufficient for the new Prime Minister; I very much regret that.

In relation to the early release scheme, will the Minister explain why prison numbers cannot be adequately reduced by the early release of those who are not subject to the most severe sentences—for example, those who are serving 10 years or less?

I thank the noble Lord for his question. I was remiss in not doing so earlier, but I join him in paying tribute to my colleague, my noble friend Lady Levitt, and, indeed, to my noble friend Lord Timpson, for all the hard work that they have done, particularly in the case of Lord Timpson on reforming not just the prison system but the probation system. We are investing a record amount of £700 million in the reform of the Probation Service and the technology it uses. That is just as important as dealing with those who we deem fit for release.

When we talk about releasing people who are on very short sentences, I understood that the Sentencing Act sought to cut the cycle of crime, whereby people went into prison for short sentences and all that did was teach them how to become better criminals, not better people. We need to make sure that, if people go to prison, they are in there for long enough and that it does a proper job of rehabilitation, making sure that, if they are on drugs or have an alcohol problem, that is centred. The main thing that prison should do is not only protect the public but cut the reoffending rates.

My Lords, I echo the sentiments of the noble Lord, Lord Pannick. Andy Burnham uses the northern phrase that we have to “get it”. What is the point of getting it when you lose Ministers of the quality of the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Levitt, who clearly get it? These Benches are dismayed that they have lost their places, because they added so much value to the debate on this sensitive issue.

Does the Minister agree that, in a fully functional justice system, no victim or their loved ones should ever be told that the perpetrator is to be released earlier than expected? Now that the Government claim to have increased capacity in the Prison Service, will they take the opportunity to restore confidence among victims by correcting this unfairness?

I thank the noble Lord for his question. We are all about restoring public confidence in the criminal justice system. That includes, as I said, making good the sore lack of investment that we saw in our prison system. It is important to be clear that victims are at all times at the centre of our thoughts when it comes to the whole of this policy issue. Indeed, one of the reforms in the Sentencing Act is that victims are given a chance to inform licence conditions if a prisoner qualifies for release. That could cover a number of things, such as tagging, an exclusion zone or a non-contact scheme. The noble Lord is right that victims must always be at the absolute front and centre of our minds when it comes to this issue. But we need to make sure that we have enough space to take prisoners who should be in prison, and that when they are in prison it does the job of protecting the public and preventing reoffending.

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for the answers he has given so far. I think it is well recognised that housing and access to housing is one of the primary determinants of whether an individual reoffends, regardless of whether they are released early or within the course of a normal sentence. Can my noble friend reassure this House that, in reviewing the early release scheme, matters of housing have been taken into serious consideration around both the impact and the possibility of reoffending?

My noble friend is right. One of the things that the Sentencing Act did was eradicate—I might even call it a travesty—Friday release, whereby people were released from prison with nowhere to go and no chance of having anywhere to go. When people say they have beaten a drug or alcohol problem in prison and want to put their life straight upon release, we have to make sure that they are given adequate access to housing so that they can get their lives set up, make progress and become a useful member of society. My noble friend is right on that.

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, we will hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, and then from the Conservative Benches.

My Lords, as the daughter of a police officer who was the subject of an attempted murder attack by the IRA when I was a child, and as the wife of a retired police officer, I was absolutely appalled and dismayed when I heard the news that the killers of PC Harper were to be released. I implore the Minister and the Government to look at the experience of Northern Ireland and the early release of prisoners, not just the impact on prison spaces but the impact on victims and their families, the morale of the police service and, indeed, the undermining of the justice system entirely.

I pay tribute to the noble Baroness and the testimony that we have heard just now. We understand how difficult this is. I want to be very clear that more than 18,000 offenders will be unaffected by these reforms. We will, obviously, as part of these reforms, communicate openly with victims who have opted into the victim contact scheme. They have to be, as I have already said to your Lordships’ House, front and centre of our minds. The noble Baroness makes a valid point about learning from the experience of Northern Ireland, and I will make sure that it is fed back to colleagues.

My Lords, the Minister was entirely right to refer to the noble Baroness, Lady Levitt, and the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, particularly in the context of this Question. On 1 July, I reminded the noble Lord, Lord Timpson, that

“there are 3,650 women in prison in England and Wales”

and that about 2,500 of those people—that is to say, 70% of the women’s prison population—

“are in custody for non-violent offences”.—[Official Report, 1/7/26; col. 1044.]

If the Government think it is better to release violent criminals and child sex offenders, rather than the non-violent cohort of women in prison, and fail to take the opportunity to free up prison places by reroling a woman’s prison into a prison for men, what the hell do they think they are doing?

I say to the noble and learned Lord that this is about ensuring that we have confidence in the whole of our criminal justice system, including the courts and the prison estate, but also the probation system. I have no doubt that, when the Prime Minister and the Lord Chancellor are looking at these reforms, these factors will be taken into account. The noble and learned Lord will know, as he is well versed in these matters and paid a lot of attention to the Sentencing Bill when it was going through your Lordships’ House, that there is a complex progression scheme to ensure that we are able to create the capacity that we need in our prison system. Without wanting to rise to any demotic, there are not a lot of easy options and there are more sophisticated responses to the problem that the simplistic one he posed.